Picture Guess & Winner Revealed

It's time to reveal the picture of my favorite Christmas gift that I received!!

I must admit that this favorite gift of mine was not a fun gadget to play with... and it even took hubster by surprise at my reaction! {In fact, in seeing this picture and guessing on it himself, he couldn't figure it out and got it wrong at first too!}

Drum roll please............

It is a necklace with the word 'hope' on the front, and a pearl.

Congratulations to 'heartofmusic' who guessed it right! Unfortunately, I ended up deleting the comment because they'd guessed it correctly but there wasn't a name or email address, and I had no idea who it was. Their blog link only went to a profile that was not publicly accessible. Later that day, they contacted me directly and it's a person I know {friend of a friend--and no they didn't already know the story behind it}. Whoops! So indeed, they do win, and I apologize for having deleted their comment! Congratulations Megan {and again, sorry for deleting your comment}!! Megan, you will have your Bible very soon! :)

Thank you everyone for your guesses - this was fun! I wish everyone could win!

More specifically, the necklace is called the Hope for Orphans necklace from the Vintage Pearl, and proceeds from it go toward helping people who are adopting. Which I just think is so amazing.

And the necklace is perfect. I absolutely love it.

And the fact that my husband, who doesn't feel quite the same way about adoption/orphan ministry as I do, got this for me made me feel so blessed.

I'd heard about the Vintage Pearl from another blogger's giveaway {sorry I can't remember which one}, and had found this and added it to my wishlist earlier this year. But I'd forgotten about it, and certainly didn't expect Tim to get it for me.

So that made the surprise all that much sweeter! I literally stared at it for a long time and just ran my fingers across it over and over for like half an hour. It really means a lot to me!

Please check out The Vintage Pearl website and blog. It's some really cool stuff! I especially love this from their About page:

why we do what we do

The Vintage Pearl works closely with several non profit organizations, Christian Ministries and orphanages. We have a heart for people in need, and the success of the comany allows us to give. We have several pieces for a cause where monies are donated for each sale, but we also give in other areas (missions, church needs, etc.) as we feel led.

Isn't that just SOOO great!?!?!

~~~~~~~~~

The best gift we feel that we were able to give to someone else was for Tim's mom. Her wish each year is to have us do something in her name to help someone else. So many neat ideas come from this... whether it's buying a goat for someone in a third world country, or what not... but this year we were able to help people we know personally. It was such a great blessing and experience to be a part of. We are so thankful.

You've heard me mention our friends Don & Sara before. They recently had a t-shirt fundraiser to help with some of their adoption expenses.

Tim's mom has a real heart for adoption and foster care. She & her second husband (Tim's dad, now in Heaven) both had a passion for caring for hurting children. They adopted 3, fostered 1 her entire life who is very much part of the family, and fostered 30 plus others over the years.

We wrote a letter to her explaining what she was getting before she got to the section of her present with the shirts. She read it aloud to everyone who closely listened in to what was going on. {It was very exciting!} :)

The letter {edited} read:

Merry Christmas Mom!

We were praying about what to do for you in your name for Christmas. We decided we wanted to help people we know. And given your passion for adoption and helping children in need, we think it's the perfect combination! 

Some friends of ours--a coworker of Roe's and his wife--have started the process of adoption. This September they sent in the paperwork and are now on the waiting list for a boy from Ethiopia. 

Don & Sara recently had a t-shirt fundraiser to help cover their costs of traveling to get their child upon adoption finalization. So in your honor, we purchased two t-shirts for you, and a t-shirt for each of us. Our idea is to take a picture of the three of us together in our shirts, send it to them to show their son someday, and also post it on our blogs to help spread awareness. 

For more details & updates, visit their blog at http://donandsarajones.blogspot.com. Love you lots, Merry Christmas! Tim & Roe :) 

Several in the family came up and asked us more about it and were clearly very interested and supportive, and it was soooo neat!

We are just so thankful to God that we were able to help in something like this, in Tim's mom's honor. It was really special... and really neat to see the reactions of all of the family!

Doris wore her shirt proudly the rest of the day, and again on New Year's Day. We are so glad she likes them!! We are so thankful for Doris and the role she's played in touching so many lives and hearts for the gospel! And we are also very thankful her cancer radiation treatments are over and she appears to be doing superbly, praise the Lord!

So in Doris's name, we want to help spread awareness about adoption, foster care, and orphan care. But honestly there are SO many ministries and organizations out there that need your help and prayers, I don't even know where to start! Just google "Christian adoption agencies" or "Christian adoption ministry" for starters, and you'll find a ton. Check with local communities or your church for other ideas. Pray. Give. Reach out. 

I heard a statistic recently somewhere that indicated all of the orphans in America versus all of the Christians in America. If even a small percentage of us Christians housed and cared for the orphans here {and that's nothing to say of across the globe!}, the orphan need in the U.S would be non-existent. Kids just need people willing to step up, step out of their comfort zone, and love them. It doesn't matter your age, race, income, or what you think you are or aren't capable of. They just need you to love and care for them. If God leads you to adopt or even just to give to ministries caring for orphans, then you better get on it. Let your heart be radically changed. I know just thinking about it and opening myself up to it has altered my heart forever. 

For those who missed it, here's an important video on this topic. It is not for the faint of heart. If your heart is sensitive to the needs & plights of others, be ready to weep and reach for the kleenex. I've watched it 10 times and I still bawl like a baby every time. 

I am truly so thankful this Christmas to have been blessed with such great, caring gifts, and in turn to be able to help support others with great gifts as well! What a blessing! 

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Conceiving, Adoption, and Compassion

Since we are, as of yet, unable to have kids of our own {I've been off the pill since last August and we've officially been trying/not preventing throughout this year}, and since we aren't in agreement on adoption, we love kids in other ways that we can.

It's extremely tough this time of year--as I long to be a mom and have for several years now--to face the holidays without kids. Again. Year after year other families have their traditions, opening presents and looking at lights with their kids. Decorating the house and baking cookies with their kids. They laugh, play games, and look forward to years and years of great family Christmas traditions.

I often fear that we will never have kids. That we won't be able to conceive and that Tim won't want to adopt. There are days I fully trust God and truly get to a place where I'm okay with that. I know He's good and wants the best for us. But around Christmas, it's just really stinking hard.

So. very. very. hard.

Right now the ache suddenly seems unbearable. My heart hurts. The tears come fast and furious.

In the midst of all that....

I love being an aunt to my 2 biological nieces, and an aunt to my through-marriage 25 nieces and nephews. Have I mentioned my brother's wife is pregnant and their first boy is due the end of April?! Sooo exciting, yay!! {Although also hard because I wish I could be pregnant at the same time as her, and they know this is their last one.}

I love being an auntie to four unrelated children {Logan, Eve, Parker, and Charlie--the kids of my dear friends Tracie, Monica, and Sherah}. These kids and their parents are truly like extended family to me. And apparently they feel the same way about me, yay! {I always fear being annoying or in the way, but they keep inviting me back for some reason....} See Monica's recent post on this. Made my heart happy. :)

I love being able to be soooo ridiculously excited for a great friend who tried for so long to get pregnant and is officially in her 2nd trimester! I couldn't be happier for her and her husband. She's been married for 10 years, and it truly does make me feel hopeful whenever I think of her. God is using her to remind me of His faithfulness and goodness. I rejoice with her, cry with her, and am truly so happy that this finally came to be in her life.

One thing that stuck out to me from what she said was this, because it's something I've often struggled with throughout the past several years:

yes, i know i said i was at peace with

and accepting the whole idea

of never having children by this point.

and for the most part i was.

but that thursday night at counseling,

i told my mentor/friend how i was excited about

and looking forward to the next day... our anniversary.

she asked me something.

i can't remember exactly what.

but whatever it was, it prompted me

to open up about my true feelings about the day.

i was going to just share what we would be doing to celebrate,

and other surfacy, small talk kind of sentences.

but her question made me dig much deeper.

i said something to the effect of,

"i'm so happy we have made it this far.

but deep in my heart,

i am heart-broken that we have nothing to show for it."

and then i broke down weeping uncontrollably.

she just let me cry.

then very quietly,

she said back to me, "like what?"

somehow, i uttered back through my sobs,

"like... children."

she was again quiet... giving me space and time and room.

then she went on to explain how

i have so much to show for ten years...

how we have stayed together through a great deal.

through trials in faithfulness,

through infertility.

through financial struggles beyond what we ever imagined.

through job losses.

through illness and car accidents.

through mere time taking it's toll on a relationship.

through so very much.

and what we had to show for it was a deep love

we would never have known without those things.

she was absolutely right.

and my sobs turned to tears upon peace

and realization that ten years was

an AWESOME milestone for us.

I have to be honest, I sobbed and sobbed after reading that. Letting it sink in. Letting God minister to me in my hurt through her words which were like a healing salve being poured over a broken heart. It was really touching for me, and I appreciate her friendship so much!

Since we aren't adopting yet, we're helping others who are. Like our friends Don & Sara. Please read their blog at 7500 miles and pray for them through their process. They are so close to getting their little boy from Ethiopia, but I know it's got to be so hard to wait! Also my friend Amber at Striving for 31. They are in the process of adopting two children from Belize. I've also randomly seen several other blogs recently talking about adoption. So many people in the process need our prayers!

I showed you that video recently that really impacted me about adoption. Last night we watched Home for the Holidays on CBS that promotes adoption & foster care. We went to Wendy's recently and saw their stuff about the Dave Thomas Foundation for adoption. I'm currently reading Mary Beth Chapman's book called Choosing to See and learning more about their organization Show Hope which helps people adopt {they adopted 3 girls from China over the course of a few years, and in May 2008 they lost their 5 year old in a tragic car accident}. I'm thinking often about the ministry our church works with, Safe Families, to help children in need. I've heard radio interviews, seen TV shows referencing it, and heard in general conversation the word 'adoption' a lot lately.

I know God is putting it on my heart for a reason. But I'm not sure that reason since it's not on Tim's heart in the same way at all. I don't understand why we feel so differently about it, but I know God is good and faithful, and I just have to be patient. Which is a lot easier said than done. Right now, it's super hard. I don't get it. I'm just being honest. It's really confusing. I'm practically begging Him now to stop showing me this stuff because I can't handle it emotionally if we're going to be on two totally different pages about it. Please be praying for us in this regard.

The closest thing we have to a child of our own is our Compassion child who lives in Honduras. She's on my heart and mind a lot right now. I pray for her regularly and wish we could do even more than we can. I hope someday to meet her and try to help her understand how much we love her despite that she's so far away.

Well, there you go... the very honest, open post about where we stand on having kids. Comment away. I could use hearing from you.

A Video Like None Other

This video is extremely touching and impactful, and made me sob and sob. I pray it is just as meaningful to you as well.

Be sure to have the Kleenex nearby. 




Thank you to Amber for originally posting this video.

More Friends Adopting

My bloggy friend Amber and her family have just announced they're pursuing adopting from Belize. I'm super excited for them and want everyone to swing by her site and let them know they're praying for them! :) I'm sure they'd appreciate it. 

What It Means to Love - Adoption Video

Adoption has really been heavily on my heart and mind lately. I can't fully explain why, except that God put it there.

Given that my body isn't yet ready to have a baby, but I do want kids so very badly and my heart aches to hold a child of my very own, I've been doing some research on adoption. Praying about it a lot. Reading the stories of friends who have adopted. Reading bits and pieces of the book Adopted for Life by Russell Moore.

I greatly admire & respect the thoughts of our friends Don & Sara who are currently in the process of adopting a child/children from Ethiopia. Here's what they have to say about adoption and our call to love the helpless orphans of the world.

But to be perfectly honest, Tim & I disagree on this. Adoption isn't something he's interested in right now, he wants to wait until we've hopefully had kids of our own. It's not that he doesn't think adoption is a good thing, he just doesn't see us doing it right now. It's a long story that I don't want to share all the details about, but I appreciate your prayers in this regard, that God would make it clear to us together as a couple what we should do.

At church this weekend they showed a powerful video about adoption that I can't get out of my head. It's a song written by one of our worship leaders {called What It Means to Love; it's available on her latest album, As Long As It Takes} and pictures of families at our church who have adopted.

Please watch it. It's very touching - girls, grab a kleenex {or maybe it's just me?}....


What it Means to Love from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.